Museums in Berlin - The Top 5 Must-See Museums in the Capital

Culture, art, and history are omnipresent in Berlin. During a city trip to the capital, you will encounter historical buildings, playful street art, and relics from past eras at every corner.

Berlin offers even more culture with its many museums: Besides the heart of Berlin's museum landscape, Museum Island in Mitte with the Pergamon Museum, the Jewish Museum Berlin, and the German Historical Museum are also major cultural attractions.

Many sites like the Berlin Wall Memorial and the Checkpoint Charlie Museum testify to recent German history and the division of the capital.

We present to you the top 5 most notable and popular museums in Berlin and give you tips for an affordable museum visit.

Most Visited Museum in Berlin

Among visitors to Berlin and locals, the Pergamon Museum is the most popular and most visited museum in the city, with nearly 2 million visitors annually. As part of the museum complex on Museum Island, this cultural site houses the Collection of Antiquities, the Museum of the Ancient Near East, and the Museum of Islamic Art.

Highlights at the Pergamon Museum

The crowd puller was constructed between 1910 and 1930 based on designs by architect Alfred Messel. Since then, especially the reconstructions of archaeological structures have ensured a steady stream of visitors. At the Pergamon Museum, you can see the Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus, and the Ishtar Gate.

Opening hours: Fri-Wed 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM | Thu 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM

NOTE! Currently, renovation work in the hall with the Pergamon Altar is taking place, expected to be completed by 2019, leading to the closure of the room and longer wait times in front of the museum. The unaffected south wing is still open for visits, and other parts of the museum are also worth a trip.

Where the NS planned their terror

Our Place 2 among the most notable museums in Berlin impressively documents the dark chapter of German history. Here, between 1933 and 1945, the Gestapo, SS leadership, and the Reich Security Main Office planned and organized their terror, and today plaques, pictures, and newspaper articles remind us of the crimes of the Nazi era.

23 Years Until Realization

Initial plans for establishing such an exhibition were already created in the 1980s. The city's ambitions faced long waiting years, during which the project 'Topography of Terror' was often at risk, before it was realized in 2010, approximately 23 years after the first temporary exhibition.

Today, the 5-hectare site between the government district and Anhalter Bahnhof attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Along with the outdoor exhibition area, the exhibition trench, the glass information pavilion offers space for permanent and changing exhibitions.

Opening hours: Daily 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM | Admission: Free

Our Place 3 of the museums in Berlin that every Berliner and capital visitor should see has drawn significant attention especially with its latest exhibit. Since 2015, the Natural History Museum has housed one of the best-preserved T. Rex skeletons in the world. Of the 300 bones, 170 are preserved in the crowd favorite Tristan - ensuring high visitor numbers.

Highlights at the Natural History Museum Berlin

The Natural History Museum is worth a visit not just because of its latest addition. Since 1889, the museum in Mitte has been an attraction for visitors from around the world. Among the exhibits are, in addition to more dinosaur skeletons, 3,000 species in the Hall of Evolution in Action, as well as minerals, fossils, and native animals.

The dioramas are also worth seeing, showing living and extinct animals in their natural habitats. If you don't want to miss out on Tyrannosaurus Rex Tristan Otto, you have until December 2018 to admire the rare specimen found in the USA.

Opening hours: Mon-Fri 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM | Sat-Sun 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

German-Jewish History in Berlin

At the Jewish Museum Berlin, you embark on a journey through two millennia of German-Jewish history. With its diverse collections and exhibits, it is not only one of the most visited museums in the capital but also the largest museum of its kind in Europe.

Extraordinary Architecture

Setting itself apart from the other museums in Berlin, which are largely located in the city center, the museum's location in Kreuzberg on Lindenstraße stands out. The spectacular building designed by Daniel Libeskind has also become one of the capital's landmarks since its opening in 2001.

With an exhibition area of nearly 3,000 square meters, visitors can discover besides 13 oversized images of eras, everyday objects, letters, art, and interactive exhibition elements.

Since 2007, the museum's glass courtyard has supplemented the already impressive building. The glass courtyard is used both as an expanded entrance area and as an event space.

Opening hours: Daily 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Tip: The Jewish Museum Berlin also regularly hosts art exhibitions and film screenings.

The German Historical Museum presents numerous exhibits on German and Berlin history and undoubtedly ranks among Berlin's most notable museums.

Milestones of German History

Experience the milestones and everyday scenes of German history. Daily, visitors stroll between images and testimonies from the last 1,500 years. People, ideas, and events are vividly and detailed portrayed.

The permanent exhibition is divided into eras, from the Middle Ages to reunification, and is complemented by temporary exhibitions. Especially the temporary exhibitions are very diverse. Currently, for example, works of art from the Israeli memorial Yad Vashem are on display. The museum regularly also holds lectures and guided tours through the historical halls.

Opening hours: Daily 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM | Admission: free for children under 18 years

1.4 Kilometers of German History

Not a traditional museum, but always worth a visit: The Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Straße.

Where border facilities and the death strip of the Berlin Wall once stood, exhibition panels today commemorate the separation between East and West Berlin. The memorial is the central site of remembrance of German division and, with the 1.4 kilometers of still preserved wall, is one of the most popular sights in Berlin.

Sights at the Berlin Wall

The memorial also includes the Chapel of Reconciliation and a documentation center with an observation tower. Here, the most famous and successful escape tunnels to the West were dug, the first segments of the wall were broken, and the official demolition of the wall began in June 1990.

And here emerged one of the most famous pictures from the time of separation, as border guard Conrad Schumann jumped over the barbed wire fence into the West.

Today, this image looms large on one of the buildings at the Berlin Wall Memorial.

There is much to discover and learn in the museums of Berlin. The institutions deal with completely different themes, so everyone can choose a museum according to their personal interests.

Whether you want to learn more about the city's history, which has been heavily shaped by the occupation of the Allies, or admire the skeleton of a giant dinosaur, everything is possible in Berlin!